More Old Photos!

Photos from Joan Larson Trouten

Joan is visited by Peggy Brown-Little

How did we function without backpacks?

Mr. Gleason and Joan Larson showing the sandblasting carving she made.

Shakespeare Club : Mr. Giacalone and "?" standing

with Joan Larson, Harold Rabin and James Johnson seated.

Who is the young man in this photo?

This is me, James Anthony, leaving the house on my first day of kindergarten at Stevenson Elementary. I’m accompanied by my sister Carol (Central: Class of ’61) while my brother Alan (Flushing ’67) watches from the porch. For the historically curious: We lived on Sixth Avenue about half a block from the corner of Stevenson Street and Flushing Road. The house has been torn down as a part of the on-going expansion of Hurley Hospital, but the house in the background is still there.

Stardom Awaits ?

Judy Weaver-Steck (Raggedy Ann), Jon Skinner (Raggedy Andy)

with Donald Burris at Potter Elementary School during the 5th grade.

The Flint Central Class of 1963 is a close family and sometimes we all need special prayer. Send all prayer requests to Dee. Always remember, the closest we can be to God is on our knees.

FLINT CENTRAL ALUMNI

COMMUNITY NEWS

If you want to know what is going on with and to be part of the Flint Central Alumni Community REGISTER HERE

Alumni & Faculty Awards Banquet

Flint Central Alumnae Banquet Program for 2008

Congratulations to all the winners!!!

The Flint Central Alumni Association

Northern-Central Thanksgiving football films go on sale to raise funds for Atwood renovation

For information Relive the Turkey-Day Games

Memories of Jacqueline Kramer

Our alumnus, Carol Scott Hinterman, Class of 1961, has taken the time to put together a collection of emails sent in to her by the alumni expressing their praise and thanks to Jacqueline Kramer's enduring influence on all of our lives.

Below is Carol's introduction thanking all of the participants who submitted their memories and accolades of Miss Kramer.

Our Memories of Miss Kramer

THESPIANS

Bottom Row: Betsy Pringle, Diane Zlatec, Peggy Hyslop

Row Two: Diane Sperry, Jacqueline Kramer (sponsor), Michele Bauders

Row Three: Dee Allen, James Wilson, Pat Costello, James Harvey, Gary Plummer, Diane Wohlleben, Dave Briggs and Bill Hershey.

Famous Coney Sauce

Passed on by Barbara Bacon Ewing

From Jim Krause....R.I.P.

Good Evening Folks, Since we all spent at least one afternoon in beautiful
downtown Flint, this should bring back some memories.

This has been a secret of mine for years that I have been unwilling to
share. However, in my present state, I am hoping that if I can share so
much joy for so many people, the good Lord will say this man needs to be
saved. OK, I know it is a long shot, but worth a try.

A LITTLE HISTORY:

No matter what you may have heard, I grew up in the Coney Island hot dog
capital of the world. (Flint, Michigan.) As a youth, a perfect evening
would be taking a date home and then going directly to your favorite Coney
island restaurant. In my case, it was the Original Coney Island located on
Saginaw Street down from the Durant Hotel by the railroad tracks. You
could pull right up in front in the no parking space as long as you were
just running in for "two to go".At 1:00 AM the place was full of drunks and
hookers but that had no bearing on the Coney Islands. I would get two with
onions and head for home. The plan would be not to ever try and eat a
Coney in the car. However, about two blocks away the smell would be just
too much. I would say to myself, I will just very carefully eat one on the
way home. No matter how carefully you tried, those onions and sauce would
drop between my legs and sometimes fall on the floor. They were also known
to ruin a great new tie. It didn't seem to serious at the time, but the
next day when you opened your car door after three hours in the sun, those
Coney's had a different smell.
Now, some people will tell you the key to the Coney island mixture is the
Koegel hot dogs that are only available in Flint or online. However, you
can still make a great Coney with regular hot dogs.
Before, I give you the recipe, this is the way to fix the Coney Island Dog
on a soft hot dog bun, steamed bun would be best, mustard to taste, much
Coney island mix, and then top with a generous portion of chopped onions.
Cheese is optional. If you are on a diet, do the same thing without the
bun. (low carbs)
I can usually get about two dinners, four lunches and one late night snack
out of a mixture. After six days and seven warm ups you sometimes get a
little green tint to the meat. That tells you it is time for a new mixture.
But DO NOT throw out the old mixture, just mix it in with the new and
therefore none is wasted.
Here is the recipe:

1 tb butter
1 tb margarine
1 1/2 lb LEAN ground beef
2 md onions finely minced
1 clove garlic finely minced or equiv garlic powder
3 tb chile power
1 tb prepared mustard
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 6oz can water
10 skinless hot dogs
salt and pepper to taste

Do NOT brown beef before using!!! Combine all except hot dogs and simmer
until thick. Grind up the skinless hot dogs or chop in food processor.
Stir in and cook 15 min longer.
The big secret in this recipe is the ground up hot dogs.

DO NOT SEND MONEY..................JUST ENJOY!

It was recently brought to my attention that this year most of the Class of 1963 will turn "63" on their birthday. Interesting !

Your Memories

To make this web page the best ever, I need your help. Do you have any memories or pictures of your years in junior high or at Flint Central that you can share? If so, copy and send either by email to the Reunion Committee or snail mail to Delores Dixon-Wilson, 7134 W. Grand Blanc Rd., Swartz

Creek, MI 48473

From Barbara Lueck-Steinkrauss

What Made Me, Me

Long ago and far away,
In a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan,
Or the dawn of Camelot.

There lived a race of innocents,
And they were you and me,
Long ago and far away
In the Land That Made Me Me.

For Ike was in the White House
In that land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges,
And Peyton Place was porn.

We learned to gut a muffler,
We washed our hair at dawn,
We spread our crinolines to dry
In circles on the lawn.

We longed for love & romance,
And waited for our Prince,
And Eddie Fisher married Liz,
And no one's seen him since.

We danced to 'Little Darlin',
And Sang to 'Stagger Lee'
And cried for Buddy Holly
In the Land That Made Me Me.

Only girls wore earrings then,
And 3 was one too many,
And only boys wore flat-top cuts,
Except for Jean McKinney.

And only in our wildest dreams
Did we expect to see
A boy named George with Lipstick,
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We fell for Frankie Avalon,
Annette was oh, so nice,
And when they made a movie,
They never made it twice.

We didn't have a Star Trek Five,
Or Psycho Two & Three,
Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty
In the Land That Made Me Me

Miss Kitty had a heart of gold,
And Chester had a limp,
And Reagan was a Democrat
Whose co-star was a chimp.

We had a Mr. Wizard,
But not a Mr. T,
And Oprah couldn't talk yet
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We had our share of heroes,
We never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin,
Or Marilyn Monroe.

For youth was still eternal,
And life was yet to be,
And Elvis was forever
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We'd never seen the rock band
That was Grateful to be Dead,
And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson ,
And Zeppelins were not Led.

And Beatles lived in gardens then,
And Monkees lived in trees,
Madonna was a virgin
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We'd never heard of microwaves,
Or telephones in cars,
And babies might be bottle-fed,
But they weren't grown in jars.

And pumping iron got wrinkles out,
And 'gay' meant fancy-free,
And dorms were never coed
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We hadn't seen enough of jets
To talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left
At the bottom of the bag.

And hardware was a box of nails,
And bytes came from a flea,
And rocket ships were fiction
In the Land That Made Me Me.

Buicks came with portholes,
And side shows came with freaks,
And bathing suits came big enough
To cover both your cheeks.

And Coke came just in bottles,
And skirts came to the knee,
And Castro came to power
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We had no Crest with Fluoride,
We had no Hill Street Blues,
We all wore superstructure bras
Designed by Howard Hughes.

We had no patterned pantyhose
Or Lipton herbal tea
Or prime-time ads for condoms
In the Land That Made Me Me.

There were no golden arches,No Perrier to chill,
And fish were not called Wanda,
And cats were not called Bill.

And middle-aged was 35
And old was forty-three,
And ancient was our parents
In the Land That Made Me Me.

But all things have a season,
Or so we've heard them say,
And now instead of Maybelline
We swear by Retin-A.

And they send us invitations
To join AARP,
We've come a long way, baby,
From the Land That Made Me Me.

So now we face a brave new world
In slightly larger jeans,
And wonder why they're using
Smaller print in magazines.

And we tell our children's children
Of the way it used to be,
Long ago and far away
In the Land That Made Me Me

Author Unknown

Longfellow Elementary Sixth Grade Choir

Back Row: Ron Weidenfeller, Nancy Colson, Annete McKnight, Janice Dimock, Sandy VanConett, Ellen Smith, Sally Sine, Delores Dixon, Marianne Harris, Nancy Joseph

Third Row: Cathy Helmkay, Lynne Robinson, Pam Greenway, Fran Hoenke, Beth Bullock, Linda Bennett, Carol Burns, Terry Guerrier, Vicki Larson, Gary Wissinger

Second Row: Holly Montgomery, Marcia VanCamp, Rick Tippett, Joy Burroughs, Leonard Freeman, Ellin Topham, ? , Bill Wentworth, Karen Dafoe, Neil Breckenridge

Front Row: Katherine Smith, Susan Jackson, Marie Mountain, Phillip Cole, Joyce Statler, Jean Barron, Maureen Taylor, Cathy Gaffney, Fred Johnson

Fun Photos from Nancy Glidden-Puskas

Young brownies at Girl Scout Camp O'Fairwinds

I recognize three girls in the front row seated. Do you recognize anyone in this photo?

Tom Wagamon at Longfellow in 1959

Sue Jackson at Longfellow

Marcia VanCamp and Gary Stafford

Heinz Stadloder

Heinz

Fred Johnson

Mrs. Cates subbing for Mr. Jenkins

Some of Longfellow's Staff

Longfellow Librarian, Mrs. Myers

Mr. Bishop

Annual Commencement Exercises Community Senior High Schools

Central

Northern

Southwestern

Atwood Stadium

Flint, Michigan

June 12, 1963

7:30 p.m.

_____

Order of Exercises

General Superintendent Lawrence L. Jarvie, Presiding

Processional, "Pomp and Circumstance" . . . Elgar

Central, Northern and Southwestern High School Bands

Directed by Ray Roth of Southwestern High School

"The Star Spangled Banner"

Conducted by Raymond Gerkowski

Director School and Community Music

Invocation . . . The Reverend Herbert Thompson

Pastor, West Court Street Church of God

Address to the Graduating Class . . .

Dr. Harold P. Rodes

President, General Motors Institute

Presentation of the Candidates for Graduation

Dr. Lawrence L. Jarvie

General Superintendent

Conferring of Diplomas . . . George V. Gundry

President, Board of Education

Assisted by Senior High School Principals

Central . . . Philip H. Vercoe

Northern . . . Guy V. Houston

Southwestern . . . Hilmer Olson

"America" Directed by Raymond Gerkowski

Benediction . . . The Reverend Herbert Thompson

Recessional, "Marche Noble" . . . Bach

Central, Northern and Southwestern High School Bands

Directed by Bruce Robart

Central High School

Memories of Mine

I felt very fortunate to grow up in a neighborhood with two city parks, Ballenger Park and Mott Park. I remember sledding and tobogganing at the hill at Mott Park and ice skating at Ballenger on the artificial rink. There were always things going on at the parks like ice cream socials, and movies on the hill stages and concerts. What great fun as a kid. I remember our first black and white television. I remember in elementary going home for lunch and sitting in front of the TV having lunch with "Soupy Sales". As teenagers, we had our own local "American Band Stand" called "Teen Canteen".

Singing has always been a passion of mine so I remember 6th grade Choir with Mrs. Stantan, then Girls Glee Club with Mr Perrior and then Girls Glee Club with Miss Doetsch. How I hated our uniforms that we wore at Central. It did not pay to be tall when you wore yours because every girl's hem was measured so many inches from the floor according the the height of the shortest girl in the glee club.

I remember our singing in the Kaleidoscope Performances each year and when I had a solo or sang with a trio, I was scared to death.

I remember the special pep assemblies especially for the Thanksgiving game with Central playing Northern. The "Card Section" and the huge mum corsages that we wore. I remember weekends when everyone cruised the streets stopping at the Coronals, Dad's Drive-in, down-town A & W", Wallies Drive-in, Ruggero's and McDonald's. Did I forget any others? At McDonalds you could order two hamburgers, two fries and two drinks for less than a $1.00.

I remember my 9th Grade Prom at Longfellow. Jim took me and we doubled with Heinz Stodloder and Marcia VanCamp. Jim's Dad and Mom were are chaperones.

Jim Wilson and I before we left to go to our 9th Grade Prom at Longfellow Junior High.

I remember, in warm weather, walking home from Central and stopping down town at Kresge's for a real cherry coke or at the Schiappacasse's Candy Kitchen for candy or fresh roasted peanuts. We were young when the Coldwater Rd. area was leveled by a terrible tornado. And do you remember when Dinah Shore visited Flint for our cities Centennial Celebration. We always had great parades in down town Flint. After graduating, I remember walking in the halls at Mott College and hearing that President Kennedy had been shot. I believe most people remember where they were when they heard that news.

These are just a few of the my memories growing up while attending Longfellow Junior High and then Central High. How about you?

Delores Dixon - Wilson

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Do You Remember When?

Take a stroll with me and go back, before the Internet... before semi-automatics and crack'…before SEGA or Super Nintendo. Way back! I'm talking about sitting on the curb, sitting on the step, about hide and go seek, Simon Says, Red light - Green light. Lunch Boxes with a thermos. Chocolate milk, going home for lunch, penny candy from the store, hopscotch, butterscotch, skates with keys, Jacks, Hula Hoops and sunflower seeds, wax lips and mustaches, Mary Janes, saddle shoes and Coke bottles with the names of cities on the bottom. Running through the sprinkler, circle pins, bobby pins, Mickey Mouse Club, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Kookla, Fran & Ollie and Spin and Marty all in black & white.

When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown seemed like going somewhere. Climbing trees, making forts, backyard shows, lemonade stands, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, King on the Mountain, staring at clouds, jumping on the bed, pillow fights, ribbon candy, angel hair on the Christmas tree, Jackie Gleason, white gloves, walking to the movie theater, running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Remember that?

Not stepping on a crack or you'll break our mother's back, paper chains at Christmas, silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington the smell of paste in school and evening in Paris or All Spice after-shave. What about the girl who dotted her i's" with hearts? The Stroll, popcorn balls, & sock hops.

Remember when: There were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyer) and the only time you wore them at school was for "gym." And the girls had those ugly gym uniforms. When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up. When nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school. When nobody owned a purebred dog. When a quarter was a decent allowance, when you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.

When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces. When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done and wore high heels. When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking every time. And you didn't pay for air. And you got trading stamps to boot!

When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box. When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents. When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed -- and did! When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in the bathrooms, flunk a test or chew gum. And the prom was in the auditorium and you danced to an orchestra. When a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car . . . To cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped band aids coated with pastel frost nail polish or angora yarn so it would fit her finger. And no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked.

Remember lying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things like "That cloud looks like a -- " And playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game. Remember when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger. And with all our progress... don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace... and share it with the children of today... When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home? Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was greater than the threat.

Remember Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, The Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows, Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk as well as the sound of a reel mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with bike rides, baseball games, bowling and visits to the pool hall.. and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that....". If you don't remember, you missed some good memories.

Author Unknown